A light emitting element (semiconductor light emitting element) includes a substrate, a semiconductor layer formed on a surface of the substrate, a reflective film (light reflective layer) that covers an inner portion of a rear surface of the substrate so as to expose an edge portion of the rear surface of the substrate, and a modified layer formed on a side surface of the substrate. Such a light emitting device may be manufactured through the following process.
First, a semiconductor layer is formed on a surface of a wafer, and a reflective film is formed on a rear surface of the water. Next, an unnecessary portion of the reflective film is removed by a cutting blade, and a groove is formed in the reflective film to expose the rear surface of the wafer. Subsequently, laser light is irradiated toward the rear surface of the wafer exposed from the groove of the reflective film to form a modified layer in the wafer. Thereafter, the substrate is divided using the modified layer as an origination to form a plurality of light emitting devices as individual pieces.
In the semiconductor light emitting element, it is required to prepare a device having a back aligner (cutting blade) for removing the light reflective layer, increasing not only the cost of facility investment but also the number of manufacturing processes of the semiconductor light emitting element. Therefore, there is a problem that the cost for the semiconductor light emitting element increases. In addition, since the light reflective layer is formed to expose the edge portion of the rear surface of the substrate, the semiconductor light emitting element as manufactured may have a portion where no light reflective layer is present on the rear surface of the substrate. Due to this, the light generated by the semiconductor layer is not reflected toward the semiconductor layer but is emitted to the outside through the portion where no light reflective layer is present. Thus, there is a problem that the brightness is lowered due to loss of light.